It was the year the communicating law came into effect to reduce the visibility of prostitution and — according to several long-time hookers — put those selling sex at higher risk.

“For the women on the street, it meant we could no longer work together or in pairs and if we did, we’d be busted within a half-hour,” said Valerie Scott of Sex Professionals of Canada (SPOC). “We were moved out of the way, into dark areas, and had to work alone. You can’t negotiate because clients wanted you in the car right away.”

Scott said politicians viewed at sex workers as “vermin” by enacting the law.

“It didn’t take long to realize Canada was serving us up to psychopaths (clients) on a silver platter,” she said. “Countless numbers of women were beaten, raped and robbed. And quite a few murdered. When I got into a car, my girlfriends would take down the plate number in full-view of the client, so he knew someone knew. It was an excellent preventative measure.”

For the past 20 years or so, the face of prostitution has changed.

The numbers remain the same — new “girls” come in, older women retire. However, business in spots where a client could pick up a “date” on the streets in the ‘80s and ‘90s has slowed.

For instance, at the “Hooker Harvey’s” by Gerrard and Jarvis Sts., said Scott, it’s hard to find women on the streets advertising their wares in tight miniskirts and heels. Ditto for Parkdale, Queen’s Park and the Women’s College Hospital.

“It’s a shadow of their former selves,” explained Scott. “Many now work indoors. With the communicating laws, guys know it’s better to pick up the phone instead.”

What surprises her is when she speaks at universities, it used to be only one female student who would approach her afterwards and tell her she was a sex worker. Now, it’s about six or seven and they’re all trying to pay their tuition.

“These are the same people who will be our future policy makers,” Scott said.

The Internet has played a significant role in more sex workers employing themselves independently without the restriction of an agency or pimp.

Craigslist came under fire last year about ads it carried which advertised escorts. While efforts were made to eliminate offering listed under the “erotic” job category, ads for rub-and-tugs appear under the heading “therapeutic.”

Retired dominatrix Terri-Jean Bedford, who alongside Scott and Amy Lebovitch, challenged the courts on anti-prostitution laws, said conditions have worsened over the years.

“I began my career at 16,” said Bedford, 51, who generated headlines in 1994 when police raided her “bondage” bungalow in Thornhill. “I’ve been raped, beaten, robbed, had more sex with more men than I can remember. I’ve had numerous trials and been to jail and now, here we are the precipice of change. Women aren’t going to lie down and take the sentences and beating from the government and the bully police and the pimps.”

Chester Brown, a Toronto cartoonist who recently released Paying For It — his memoir about being a john — said attitudes about prostitution have become slightly more transparent over time. If more clients told their stories, the image of hiring sex workers could be transformed into a more positive thing.

“I’m in a unique position, being an artist, I don’t have to worry about having a regular job or that my employer might be upset with me coming out as a john,” he said. “I understand why some guys feel the need to stay in the closet with this stuff, but if more johns were vocal, ... you’d be able to see we’re just regular people. We’re not monsters.”